Episode 1586 (12 March 1998)
Synopsis Mick's band rehearse again and Lola is late again. Lenny is furious and asks Mick if he's dating her. Mick denies it so Lenny suggests they sack her if Mick has nothing to lose by offending her. Mick waits a little longer and she does eventually arrive, with no explanation. Ruth and Mark change their social services statement to say they agree that Nicole should have Jessie back, although Mark is reluctant. Rob the social worker arranges for Nicole to have Jessie for a long weekend to acclimatise and says she'll pick Jessie up at 7pm. Robbie works in the video shop and hits the wrong button on the computer so the screen goes blank. Nigel winds him up saying he has removed the entire database and it may take days to recover, then when Robbie panics and thinks he has lost the job, he presses another button and the screen reappears. Julie asks Nigel to meet her for a drink to discuss the play and Nigel tells Grant he thinks she's finally going to tell him she reciprocates his feelings, because she can't while she's directing him in the play. He arrives for the date and asks Grant if he looks OK. Grant replies "She must be used to your style by now." Julie arrives, tells him he's sacked from the play because Alex can sing better, and hurries off because she's busy. Nigel is extremely disappointed and moans to Grant that he must be stupid to think she likes him. Grant says he disagrees, and asks for precise details of how Julie kissed him when they had their "date", then concludes that Julie does fancy him really. Terry's betting spree is typically disastrous, and he's thrown out of the bookies for not paying his debts. He begs some cash from Tiffany, which she gives him on condition that he never enters the shop again. Since he's been barred, he agrees readily, then goes to the video shop and offers Robbie a job placing bets for him. At the di Marcos household, they are arranging a birthday dinner for Luisa, and Beppe is fed up with the hassle, saying why can't they go out for an Indian like a normal family! He asks Gianni to come out later to a club, but Gianni is busy cooking and obviously likes the family thing. They all make a huge effort and have an enjoyable evening until Teresa answers the door and Justine bursts past her to screech at Gianni that the engagement is off and she just came to return the ring, since it was a family heirloom. All eyes are on Gianni to explain this mysterious engagement that no-one in the family had heard about before. Justine throws the bit of tat onto the table and storms out. Luisa and Rosa look at it in horror, asking if anyone has seen it before in their lives. Gianni is called upon to explain, and does a poor job of it. There ensues a typical Italian family shouting match. All three generations of women harangue Gianni about his treatment of women, and Beppe tells Teresa it was only a three-fifty ring from a market stall. Teresa takes the ring to throw it away, but Beppe says it's his good luck charm. Teresa can't believe that both brothers use the same trick and the same ring! Kathy visits Lorna and she's out, but a neighbour asks if Kathy is the police. Kathy asks why and she's told that Lorna is using her bedsit for prostitution, which the neighbour doesn't like as she has small children. Kathy tells Pat who advises her to keep well out of it. Jessie by the front door at 7pm waits for her mother. An hour later, Ruth asks her to come back in since it's so cold out in the hallway, but Jessie refuses. Ruth and Mark are furious when Nicole finally turns up one and half hours late. Nicole grabs Jessie and says she's here now, so let's go. Ruth and Mark are left wondering whether their decision not to oppose Nicole's request for Jessie was correct after all. Ruth says it's obvious that Nicole won't let Jessie keep in contact with them when she takes her and snivels most unattractively. Credits Main cast *Mick McFarlane - Sylvester Williams *Lenny Wallace - Desune Coleman *Ruth Fowler - Caroline Paterson *Mark Fowler - Todd Carty *Robbie Jackson - Dean Gaffney *Nigel Bates - Paul Bradley *Grant Mitchell - Ross Kemp *Terry Raymond - Gavin Richards *Tiffany Mitchell - Martine McCutcheon *Kathy Mitchell - Gillian Taylforth *Pat Evans - Pam St. Clement *Beppe di Marco - Michael Greco *Gianni di Marco - Marc Bannerman *Teresa di Marco - Leila Birch *Rosa di Marco - Louise Jameson *Luisa di Marco - Stella Tanner Guest cast * Julie Haye - Karen Henthorn *Justine - Category:Episode Category:1998 Episodes Category:Episodes outside of broadcast patterns